Paradox Fan Tutorial
Cast Starring: The Allied Guardian Tank as Himself. The Soviet Hammer Tank as The Apocalypse Tank. The Imperial Tsunami Tank as Himself The Confederate Mastiff Medium Tank as Herself The Talon Cleric Track as Himself The Royal Nian Tank as Himself The Protectorate Command Node as the Executor TripleTank The Syndicate Talos AFV as Himself The African Chike Battle Tank as Himself The Andean Vizcacha Tank as Himself The Combine Malice Tankette '''as '''Herself The Fortress Echo tank as Itself The Contingent Bushmaster Tank as Himself The Defender Blitzer as Himself The Industry T-59 as Himself The Pahit Typhoon MBT as Herself The Atlantean Fenrir Battle Tank as Himself ZBI's Mr. Zombolt as Lightning MTD The Unseen Topolino Tank as Himself The People Shield and Sword as Themselves The Chrono Forward Grizzly Tank as Himself Lesson One: New Faces (Fades in from black. The 8 Paradox tanks are seen driving away from a war zone. They are severely damaged.) Guardian: Is it over yet? I'm tired of getting shot at! Tsunami: An honourable warrior does not care about getting shot at! Talos: You can only say that because you can just block the shots! Apocalypse: And I can't? (Everybody shoots the Apocalypse) Apocalypse: Ow! Mastiff: Block that, you commie! (Apocalypse shoots Mastiff. Mastiff shoots back) Cleric: Calm down now, you don't want to kill each other just before retiring. Executor: AIs do not retire! Guardian: Lucky you then. Tsunami: (Looking off-map) Hey, what's that? (The fan MBTs appear. Some are just driving, and some appear in their own unique way - the Waverider rides its tidal wave up from the water onto land and the Grizzly Chronospheres in. The Lightning deploys a little too far away. The Typhoon is missing.) Chike: Hey hey, don't talk about retiring when we haven't even made our entrance yet! Waverider and Grizzly: Yeah! (Everyone else looks at the two of them) Waverider and Grizzly: What? Tsunami: Shouldn't I be the one riding that wave in? Guardian: Shouldn't I be the one Chronosphering in? Waverider: 'Your creators didn't think about it. ''(The Malice, by far the smallest, Vortex's in. She looks at the others.) 'Malice: '''Ha! The benefit of hindsight is 20/20! What you failed to cover, we take for ourselves! ''(The Fenrir drives in from the water. He glares at the Waverider, who quickly retreats offshore) '''Fenrir: (Hollering at the Waverider) I'm supposed to be doing the tutorial, not you! (The Typhoon MBT emerges from the water) Typhoon MBT: Am I late? Fenrir: Pretty much, so welcome to the party. Ahem, where was I? Ah yes, welcome back commander, to the Red Alert 3 Paradox Expanded Universe tutorial or whatever the name is. As you see, our family has grown again, with those 8 oldtimers over there plus us. (Music Stops. There is a beat.) Guardian: Wa-What? Eight plus us... (His turret moves amongst the the tanks, "counting" them) ...Equals twenty-one?(There is another beat) ...Equals TWENTY-ONE! (He loses it. Fast motion of him scrambling over the map in a fit of insanity) TWENTYYYY-OOONNNEEEEE!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (His screaming fades into random gibbering, and he stops in a far off corner, but still on-screen) Topolino: OK then. Typhoon: 'That guy is really behind the times. '''Apocalypse: '(Laughing) Maybe you capitalists aren't so bad after all. '''Fenrir: So, now that this is over, commander! I hope you still remember the basics of the game. When we said "only one more game" we were of course not telling the entire truth - we meant "one more game and then another one". Apocalyspe: That's about the same as a lie. Fenrir: Yeah, sorry. Anyway, I will give a short introduction to the new factions and their tanks now. The African Emirates, represented by the Chike. Chike: Hello. The African Emirates are a diamond miner faction from, well, Africa. We have long range weapons and quite some high tech stuff on hand. On the other hand, we're pretty lacking in close combat... yeah. Fenrir: Ok, next are the Andean Community. Vizcacha: Good afternoon. The Andean Community are a centralist faction, where everything comes from our Construction Yard, while other structures supply important parts and equipment. Our infantry are very mobile and even build our defenses, but are quite slow, and so are the other units. Our specialty is Combat Engineering, which in short terms means we like manipulating the battlefield to our advantage. Fenrir: Now we come the Technocratic Combine. Malice: A pleasure to work with you! The Technocratic Combine are extremely scientific: we're even warring against the Allies 'cause they aren't as scientific focused as us! We use a LOT of artillery and Area of Effect weaponry, but alas, our other units are rather weak in comparison and our production tree costly and inflexible. Fenrir: Ok, who is next? Echo Tank: (clears throat importantly) The Fortress. No one really knows who or what the Fortress are (except we). You can say, we are the epitome of extreme difference, on the one hand superior stats for the structures, defenses and units (except our infantry), on the other hand a painfully slow tier system and a ridiculous reliance on our homebase and money, and an extreme lack of quantity. Oh yeah, our buildings are armed too. Fenrir: Ah yes. Well, what is there much to say? Next up are the Southern Contingent, right? Bushmaster: Correct. Another defensive faction, the Southern Contingent uses units to stop the advancement of the enemy, and while hampered with short range, we use a very good airforce, infantry and navy to intrude and encapsule the enemy. Fenrir: And so we come to the Defender's League. ---Defenders League Tank---: Bring it on! Fenrir: Almost no navy, sub-par aircraft and weak starters. Don't we know someone else like that? ---Defenders League Tank---: Yeah, and? On the other hand, our infantry are supreme, the high tier units are powerful and the superweapon kicks hard. We guys are for the people who like long battles and continuously want to improve. Fenrir: And there comes the next faction - The Industry. T-59: Yes, go ahead. Fenrir: As I see that, this faction has one design flavor - spamming. Executor: '(''He alters his voice, sounding demonic-robot like) Did an organic just say that one of their pathetic super-clusters can drown the Infinite Army in NUMBERS?! (He points his cannons at the T-59) I will let you know now, organic, that when we awaken The Icon, your insignificant group will go first! '''T-59: Tsk, you don't know us. Our navy is good, our production capabilities too, but everything else is sub-par, except when grouped. This could become difficult for the common commander, but a skilled one can win with us. Fenrir: Thus, we come to the Pahit Kingdom. Typhoon: Alright. We are a faction based heavily on choice. We feature upgrades, both good expansion and bunker-down possibilities and strong high-tier units with the commander deciding what units will serve via choosing two out of four strategies. Plus we are good on water and land alike. On the other hand, our artillery and overall range is low, our airforce is bad, the highest units are quite costly and the strategies are mutually exclusive to each other. In short, a commander should choose wise when deciding the strategy. Talos: Sometimes the best choice is none at all. Fenrir: Sounds complex. Alright, next the Atlantean Monarchy. Hey, that's us! We feature a broad band of amphibious units, many soft-counters and multirole units, and in the late game we can bring out the really heavy guns. Our unit production structures are also mobile, although they need to deploy to build anything. All right, who is--- Mastiff: Howdy, wait a second - what are your weaknesses? Fenrir: Meh, ok ok. We need a lot of abilities because our units have weak armour, and our late units have limits on how many we can field, plus they are expensive and slow. Mastiff: Why does everyone go for slow, expensive and big nowadays? Fenrir: No idea. Anyway, Zone Break Industries are next. Lightning: I forgot where the Undeploy Button was. (Everyone shoots the Lightning) Lightning: Ok ok, sorry. Well then, Zone Break Industries has lots of firepower to hit the countryside, and staying in the fight. We will also make other appearances like in the mod ZBI! coming soon! (Everyone shoots the Lightning again) Lightning: Sorry, Forgot the fourth... (Everyone shoots the Lightning Some more) Lightning: Ok! Ok! I'll stop. I need some healing (Highlife Repair Chopper heals the Lightning and Flies offscreen. Money Signs are seen as it heals) Lightning:'' ''We also get paid for healing our unit, unlike some... (looks at Apoc Tank) Apocalypse: (He points his turrets at the Lighting) Say that again, I dare you. Fenrir: *sigh* Ok fine, whatever. The Unseen are next. Topolino: Oh yeah. The Unseen are a faction very similar to the Confederates, with the main difference being that almost everything can be garrisoned. We use some stealth, but have weak armour. Voice 1: 'Hey can we come out now? '''Voice 2: '''Please, these fireports are cramped! '''Topolino: '''Right, sorry about that ''(a Weapons expert and a Rockets expert leave the tank, and walk off screen). (Everyone looks at Topolino) '''Topolino: What? Fenrir: Err, right...That sounds an awful lot like the Confederates. Well I don't complain. The People now. Shield: Hello. The People set everything on defense and speed. We can even use units which are not even finished yet, and our engineers can build power plant-esque structures, so called Pylons which serve as outposts. Everything is however bad in offense and expensive, and if units not finished yet are destroyed they are gone, as is the money used on them. Of particular note is our offensive superweapon, which destroys everything, yes, EVERYTHING it hits. Interestingly, infantry units do not suffer at all, they are actually promoted. Fenrir: Sorry for interrupting, but who wrote that? Sword: No idea. We have the handwave that those infantry are gone for a year for them and come back well trained later. Fenrir: I will NOT ask any other questions... Next faction please! Grizzly: The last are the best, everyone knows that. (Guardian shoots the Grizzly) Guardian: You are just a Red Alert 2 rip-off. Grizzly: Let's not break the 4th wall again, see the many holes? Anyway, Sector Chrono are the best of the best the Allied Nations have. A lot of chrono technology, me, well trained infantry and more. We only struggle with higher tier, but this can be circumvented too. Guardian: And? You think that makes you better than the common Allies? Grizzly: Yeah, so what? We ARE better! (Guardian and Grizzly begin fighting) Fenrir: Hey, calm down or I'll... Guardian and Grizzly: Shut up! Fenrir: Ok, fine! (Guardian and Grizzly have been banned from the tutorial via chronoport) Fenrir: Thank you. Well commander you see, there seem to be problems already. Anyway, we'll see you in the next tutorial then. Farewell! (Everyone lines up and fires confetti) Lesson 2: Detailed Faction Overview (Fades in from black. All 22 tanks are seen lined up in two lines in the parking lot in front of the burger joint from the original tutorial) Guardian: Ah, welcome back, Commander. We were just... eh... going for some time off. Apocalypse: Western food is atrocious! (Malice, Topolino, Lightning, Guardian, Vizcacha and Mastiff all shoot the Apocalypse) Apocalypse: Ow! Malice: Insult our food again, and you'll face the full wrath of the Combine's artillery! Chike: What about our artillery? Malice: What about it? You guys aren't Western, like us! Fenrir: Technically, the Atlanteans are Western... Topolino: You've been stuck underwater for way too long, dude. Apocalypse: Capitalist pigs, the lot of you... (Apocalypse gets shot by just about every other tank) Fenrir: Not all of us are Capitalists you know. Anyway, back to the main point - General, we can't afford to have you send us into the field without you learning the basics for each of our factions, right? Vizcacha: You'd end up killing us all otherwise! And I don't want to die before I get a shot at the smirking Allied tank over there! (Guardian shoots Vizcacha. Vizcacha shoots back) Nian: Now, now. Save the fighting for later. Typhoon: Yes, yes - the Commander's watching, so don't make a scene! Lightning: ... Er, what? Who's watching from where? (Tsunami shoots Lightning) Lightning: What was that for? Tsunami: You dishonour the name of the warrior by not paying attention to us! Lightning: I was working on my Big Important Popular Project! (Crickets chirp as the ZBI tank looks around at the other tanks, who are all staring at him. Tumbleweed rolls past.) Grizzly: What's tumbleweed doing here anyway? Fenrir: Aaaanyway, we need you to learn the basics first. The oldtimers already had their tutorial, so you won't be playing as them. Talos: (Shoots Fenrir) Who're you calling an oldtimer!? Guardian: *Sniff* Why not? T-59: You don't get any new stuff to show off, while we got plenty! Apocalypse: Can't all the fans out there submit some new stuff for the glorious Union? (Apocalypse gets shot at by all the other tanks) Echo: Fourth wall... Bushmaster: '''That aside, who's going first? '''Chike: '''Me! Me! '''Guardian: All righty then, let me go take a nap... (Chike shoots Guardian) Guardian: Oy! Chike: We have lots of interesting stuff to show off, so why don't you oldtimers just go get your seats and some popcorn or whatever and just watch? Apocalypse: Okay, okay... grumble grumble African Emirates Andean Community Technocratic Combine (A '''Cyclobird' rolls onto the field, doing figure eights and generally having a good time, followed by the more serious Malice Tankette. The two hook up in front of a Research College.)'' Malice Tankette: Hey, where's the third guy? Cyclobird: I dunno. Hey there, Head Researcher! Listen up, man, 'cause your the boss now and if you perform poorly The Dean'll have your license bobbed, got it? Malice: What my...sigh, colleague is trying to say is that this section of the tutorial will inform you of how we run things. As of recently, we've come across reports that this area is host to not just one, but two Allied bases looking to gain an edge in the tutorials. We're going to be wiping them both out, while teaching you to do the same. Cyclobird: That's right, Baby! Ready to roll? Malice: Yes, you slang-slinging civvie! That was the cue to start! Cyclobird: Woah, woah, just cool it bird, I'll start! Anyways...(drives over to Research College)...This is the Research College, a structure that will be the basis for all your production structures. Click on it, and note the four structures, then go ahead and build a Central Laboratory. (Player does so) Cyclobird: Excellent, HR! Looking classy there! Now, ordinarily you'd start off any game with a Central Laboratory already, cause that's your Headquarters for the Combine, but this is just a teaser for the future. Now, looking at the Central Laboratory, you're gonna be seeing that it's a little different from the other factions..... Malice: Unlike most, if not all, of the others, we of the Combine combine different kinds of units, and even buildings, in our HQ! Instead of having production buildings for our infantry, ground vehicles, aircraft, etc, we just have them placed in buildings by specialty! As you can see, the Central Laboratory can build all support buildings, as well as most of the Combine's infantry and their primary transport vehicle! Cyclobird: Which means you can begin building up armies right from the moment you begin the game! Coolio, right? Unfortunately, this means that it's pretty hard to specialize, and you won't be able to mass-produce armies of certain types of units. The Combine prefers to used combined-forces. Anyways, enough gumming, build yourself a Personnel! (Player does so) Cyclobird: Wowee, that's one hot mama! Now, as you can see, the Personnel is a good example of the Combine's strengths. Watch her as she fires on those Peacekeepers that just...PEACEKEEPERS! (Peacekeepers approach base in a row, Personnel opens fire. Spread fire soon eliminates all of them) Malice: Right Head Researcher, the first Allied base knows we're onto them. I'll take control for now. Time to build us a base so we can take these Luddites down! Alright, Head Researcher, build us a ACE Generator so we can start buidling everything else in! (Player selects, places it down) Malice: As you can see, the first half of the building cycle is built directly on the field. At the half-way point, the buidling will have all it's hit points. However, the second half still needs to be built, while all the appropriate safety checks are done and the equipment moved in. Cyclobird: Hey, why is that done? I mean, do we really need to conduct safety tests on every building before it is built? What's the point? Malice: We come from Former California. Earthquakes, flooding, why do you think?! Anyways, our buildings do take longer to be made, but are better armored against damage as a result. Now.... (Generator is finished, three more Generators, two Refineries, and a Security Outpost spring up) Malice: Alright, Head Researcher, we have the start of a nice standard base. As you will find, the Combine works best when their bases are small but numerous, centered around choke points and just outside of enemy bases. As the masters of siege warfare, we demand no less. Now lets start on the defenses. Defenses are constructed, not from the Central Laboratory, but from the Security Outpost. Build some walls around the base, and then two Sling Cyclos, and two ACE Emplacements. (Player does so) There, now we have some basic defense against any more raids. Oh, and all defenses are upgraded from the Central Laboratory, NOT the Security Outpost. The Security Outpost actually can deploy into a short range powerful all around turret as powerful as the Collider Tower, although it cannot build any more defenses if it does. Cyclobird: Right, now that that's done, let's take a look at the main military. As you can see, the bulk of your infantry are built at the Central Laboratory. However, if you wish to get anywhere farther than that you'll have to go into Civilian or Military Trees, or even both. Civilian forces tend to be good for support, while military forces are the real damage dealers. In addition, you'll want a Sealab to battle on the seas and oceans. Let's start by building a Field Technician. (Player builds one) Cyclobird: The Field Technician is your Engineer, and all around generalist. He can do it all: Repair buildings, repair vehicles, heal infantry, capture enemy buildings....and generally improve whatever garrisoned structure he's in in a variety of ways! However, he is most important because he can construct Research Colleges. Go on, make him do so. (Player does so) Cyclobird: Great! Now, select that College, and you'll see it can turn into one of four buildings. Each of those will turn into a structure capable of producing units, allowing you to decimate your foes! Remember, though, Field Technicians can only be constructed from your Central Laboratories! Malice: Turn the College into a Field University, and construct an army to crush that puny Allied Base! (Some units are made, their specials explained, etc. Player then takes them up and destroys small base) Malice: Excellent work! Now that you've crushed the first one, let's tech up and then go on the second! Each Combine building is etched up separately, much like the Empire of the Rising Sun, only better....somehow. Anyways, upgrade your Central Laboratory to it's full height, then go and produce Geneive, our Commando. (Player does so) Geneive: Well...Hi there, Head Researcher...ooh, I can't wait to just go out and....witness our foes die underneath my feet... Cyclobird: Well, that's not creepy at all! Geneive is our top Commando, and yes, she flies. (Group of Guardians and an Assault Striker appear) Geneive will absolutely destroy anything vehicular or building-like on the ground, but watch out for aircraft! (Geneive bombs the Guardians, destroying them) She can also pull out the Portal Vortex Device, which uses Dark Energy to simply rip a hole in reality in anything she uses it upon - It takes quite a long time to charge, but man it will collapse anything! (Geneive uses special weapon, Assault Striker dies instantly) Geneive: Sorry sweeties, I've got to...go. See you around sometime, Head Researcher....maybe we can split some skulls later, drain their blood? (Leaves) Malice:.....Okay. Cyclobird: She scares me. Malice: Me too. Anyways, let's go take out the Allied base to the south and then relax for a bit! (Both vehicles head down to the south. After a while, they see a near fully upgraded Sanctuary Fortress and base.) Cyclobird: (Scared) THAT'S NOT THE ALLIES! Malice: Oh great, it turns out this was the Fortress....How in the name of Science did we get the information wrong? And why are they here, this wasn't the scheduled area! Cyclobird: We can't just leave these guys to spread, they hate our guts, AND they aren't subject to the truce! How are we supposed to get rid of them? The two of us alone wouldn't put a scratch on them! (Heavy shaking, '''Crustacean Mobile Artillery' appears next to the other two)'' Crustacean:I''' am here. '''Malice: Finally! Head Researcher, this is the Crustacean Mobile Artillery, the most powerful artillery in the expanded universe. It even beats the Aftermath Artillery in terms of sheer destructive power, and that's saying something! Now, not even these guys can stand in the way of Progress! (Crustacean starts firing. Almost all buildings are taken out in one or two shots) Cyclobird: As you can see, the Crustacean will devastate everything it touches - buildings, infantry, vehicles.....everything. Unfortunately, the Crustacean is rather...well, slow, but if you can get it into position it can rival even Superweapons in terms of damage output. And, (said gleefully) it has no unit cap! Crustacean: I am the death of civilizations! Malice: Now Commander, you will see that we've left their Sanctuary Fortress without any damage. We've been telling the Crustacean to avoid targeting it because we want to show you our Superweapon - the Dark Energy Expander. Cyclobird: The Combine Dark Energy Expander has a longer cool down time than most - that's because it is one of the more powerful. If used properly, it's more powerful than the Atomic Bomb! Watch, and be amazed. (Flare shoots down on the Fortress. A short time later, dark energy particles begin falling, and a shimmering effect is seen as the area begins vibrating. A speed-up sound is heard) Crustacean: Nothing.....is happening. Cyclobird: Wait for it. The Dark Energy Expander is the longest of all super weapons, taking a total of twenty seconds to go through. During that time, time is quickened, making everything in the area age hundreds of years in seconds and thousands in minutes! (A few infantry begin to die, and the leftover buildings around the base start to die, and after the Superweapon is finished the Fortress building has been destroyed. The Crustacean moves off-screen....slowly) Malice: See, Head Researcher? The Combine stands supreme as the future of the world! The very fabric of the universe itself is nothing more than a tool to be bent for our tools! Some may argue, but they are Luddites, lower than the dust under our treads, and nothing more than obstacles that must be removed for the advancement of Science! Cyclobird:......What she said. Anyways, Head Researcher, the Dark Energy Expander is potent, but remember that some vehicles may be able to get out the area before they are destroyed, and that movable HQs can pack up to move out of the area. Now, Head Researcher, that is most of what you need to know. Lead us well, and destroy anything that gets in our way! Feel free to experiment more, or click on my colleague to advance the tutorial. (Combine Vehicles drive away, player can mess around as normal before continuing,) The Fortress (Screen fades in, a big battle appears to be going on between all the factions except the Fortress, all the tanks from the introduction except the Echo are cheering from a raised cliff on the sidelines) Apoc: Go go Soviets! Nian: Look out to the east, Commander! (A Crusader Crawler rolls over some Nians) Cleric: Haha, that happens if you don't pay attention! T-59: Where's the Fortress? (Fighting goes on, suddenly a superweapon warning goes off, but nobody notices. After some ominous sounds, a wave of meteorites hits on the battlefield, destroying eveything including the side bases and turning the area in front of the cliff into one big wasteland dotted with dark dimensionfields) Guardian: WHAT Apoc: THE Talos: (insert syndicate swearword here) (Fortress delegation including the Echo, Smasher, Aftermath and some other units move onto the former battlefield) '' '''Echo:' That shut up you hotheads good, didn't it? It's a nice peaceful field now, isn't it? Aftermath: We should grow some plants here after the darkness expires, meteorite soil is very nutritious. Apoc: You have GOT to be kidding me. Cleric: Great Lord..... Echo: Now shove of your spectator seats and go back to your bases, you violent beasts! (other tanks obey, partially because the Aftermath Artillery lets lose a barrage) Echo: It's like ancient Rome all over again, only a lot more messy. (tanks drive away) (We come at the beseiged sanctuary fortress from the combine tutorial, it apears the base wasn't prepared correctly, explaining the high damage the combine did to the base) Echo: What happened here? wait a minute... (we see crustecaen killing more unprepared fortress buildings) Echo: WHAT! if he's so bend on destroying our bases, we'll give him a little of his own stuff! (tanks drive to a nearby empty base spot) Echo: this looks like a good spot, let's get a base here. 'Smasher: Coming in! (a big drone like vechile comes out of the dark dimension and deploys into a sanctuary fortress) Aftermath: ok, we'll take you through our basics, and then we are going to use some of the combines own technique's against them survivor, let's see how they will react to that. Echo: let's start of with the spill of our being: the Sanctuary Fortress! '' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0rl5rZ2_e4&feature=related#t=3m17s metroid landing sound is heard)'' Southern Contingent Defender's League The Industry (Guardian and Mastiff tank are driving along a forestal route, followed cloesely by the apoc) Mastiff: keeping up in the back? i know a nice spot where those new guys haven't been yet, we'll get some rest there! 'Guardian: i hope so, these guys have been working on my nerves for too long now, first you , and then them. Mastiff: aww, relax, there's nothing likea nice spot of nature to get some rest on. Guadian: agreed. Apoc: awww, capitalistic love, how cute. Masiff and Guardian: SHUT UP! (both fire at the Apoc) Mastiff: we both like nature, not each other (tanks drive into an open spot on wich a industrial base has been buildt, Matiff and guardian are looking at the Apoc and don't notice) Apoc:'''Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, where is the nature, i'm only seeing factories. '''Mastiff: what, but, i'm sure! this was the spot! Guardian: It's brown and victorian Apoc: victoriwhat? so that'll mean: the Industry. Mastiff: T-59!!!!!! (sixteen T-59's drive up to the 3 tanks, they come from all sides of the screen) T-59's: you called lady? Pahit Kingdom (Fade from black, a Typhoon MBT, a Mercury Artillery and a Crusher meet on a beach. A Construction Yard is on the water.) Typhoon: Welcome commander to the tutorial part about the Pahit Kingdom, starring the Mercury Artillery, the Crusher and me, the Typhoon MBT. As you see, the Construction Yard is already prepared, and we want you to build a Beryllium Power Plant. (Player does so) Typhoon: As you see, the Power Plant is ready in the Construction Yard and awaits to be build on the field. (Power Plant is ready, Natasha comes by and destroys it) Typhoon: Aww no! Commander, as you see the Power Plant leaves toxic chemicals behind when destroyed, which take a while to decay. (Two new Power Plants come up, followed by a Barracks, an Ore Refinery, a War Facility and an Embassy) Mercury: To speed up, we prepared some structures in advance off-shore for you. Typhoon: Right. The Pahit Kingdom builds structures like the Soviet Union, on the field. Those structures are vurnerable and need protection, once they are build however they are quite hardy. We also have Construction Cranes, which increase the build radius and build everything Construction Yards do, except other Cranes of course. (The structures are finished by now) Crusher: If you may, now please select the Construction Yard and build a Defense Node from the Armoury Tab. (Player does so) Crusher: The Defense Node is an amphibious deployer vehicle. It can set up anywhere and, if needed, pack up again. By itself it is unarmed, thus you need to construct a defense upgrade from the armoury tab. Please click the Cannon Upgrade. (only one available) (Player does so) Crusher: We have prepared a target area, please send the Defense Node to there to deploy it, then upgrade it with the cannon. (Player does so) Mercury: Good, now watch. (A Talos comes by and gets attacked by the Defense Node with the Cannon. The Talos is destroyed) Mercury: Haha, nice. Crusher: Alright, so much for that. Commander, you have an Embassy up. The Embassy is in a way our tech structure and allows construction of our superweapons. It also gives us additional funds for the battle. Last but not least, it researches upgrades. Please click it. (Player does so, nothing is there) Typhoon: Did you forget? Commander, you need to choose your strategies first. This is done in the Strategy Command, our Superweapon structure. You can choose two out of four strategies, each with its own units, upgrades and abilities for the strategy command. Please build one now. (Player does so) Typhoon: Now please select the strategies Hold the Line and Unique Resort. (they are the only ones available anyway) Typhoon: Now that you have selected the strategies, you can click the Embassy and research upgrades. You also gained access to new units. The high-tier units in the Pahit Kingdom are selected via the strategies. Per strategy you gain one new unit per production structure, plus one unit per combination, which means all in all you gain up to 12 units out of 39. Mercury: Wait, why 39? Why not 40? Typhoon: Well, the defense strategy does not add a new vehicle unit, but a new base defense. Its combinations however are units. Alright, Commander, please select the Barracks and train a Field Engineer. (Player does so) Typhoon: The Field Engineer is a high-tier unit, only accessible via the combination of Hold the Line and Unique Resort. Field Engineers use SMGs for self-defense and can deploy to build additional small defenses around himself. Try it out. (Player does so) Typhoon: Alright commander, this is pretty much it. Thank you for your time, and have fun with the next part of the tutorial. Atlantean Monarchy (Fades in from black. The Fenrir, Waverider and a Poseidon are seen on the beach in the middle of an Atlantean base built on the coast. The base has no power.) Fenrir: Finally, it's our turn! Waverider: Yeah! As you can see, Commander, we Atlanteans are a pretty unique faction in that way that just about everything we have is amphibious! Poseidon: '''Except some of our buildings. '''Waverider: Except some of our buildings. Which incidentally are the first things we will be going through. Fenrir: The centre of every Atlantean base is the Aquapolis, which is this giant blue dome over here (drives beside the Aquapolis). It builds every single Atlantean building and defense, and also has four hardpoints we can build our defenses on. Poseidon: '''We don't seem to have any power though. '''Fenrir: (Shoots Poseidon) We know that. General, please select and build a Solar Furnace on the beach and a Wave Farm on the water. These two buildings are the Atlantean power plants, which we need to power our bases. You should be able to see the two icons for these buildings on the build tab on the right side of the screen. Waverider: Of course they power our bases! Why would they be called power plants otherwise? Fenrir: (Shoots Waverider) You, shut up. Now, General. Please proceed and build the power plants. Click on their icons and place them on the battlefield. We build our buildings like the Soviets - we place them first, and they build on the field. (The player does so. The base comes online) Fenrir: Thank you, General. Now our base has power and is fully operational! Poseidon: Do note that the two power plants have special abilites - unlike most of the other power plants the other factions have. Please select the Wave Farm and activate its special ability. (Player does so. The Wave Farm sinks below the water instantly) Poseidon: The Wave Farm is capable of hiding itself underwater to evade enemy attacks. Like this, only attacks that can hit submarines may damage it. The downside is that their power generation is cut by half when submerged. Fenrir: Now, activate the Solar Furnace's special ability! (Player does so. The whole base goes offline) Waverider: Tell the General to make that Wave Farm come back up before doing that, idiot! (Talos drives up to investigate. He takes a potshot at the Solar Furnace, but the Solar Furnace fires back at him) Talos: OW! (drives away) Fenrir: The Solar Furnace's special ability allows it to redirect sunlight onto an enemy to damage it - like that guy over there - but it cuts power generation by half, like the Wave Farm. Talos: At least say that earlier! (gets hit by a torpedo from the Poseidon) OW! Hey, I thought torpedoes are only usable in water! Poseidon: My torpedoes are a little special, so they can be used on land too. Now scram before I decide to shoot you again. (Talos runs away as both power plants switch back to normal operation) Fenrir: Getting back on topic... General, we have enough power now, so why don't you click on the Heavy Aquafabricator icon in the build tab? (Player does so. The Heavy Aquafabricator begins building) Fenrir: Now, while we wait for the Heavy Aquafabricator to finish building, click on the Training Facility beside me. This is the infantry training structure for the Atlantean Monarchy, and it trains all our infantry. Like our vehicles, our infantry are all amphibious. Train one of every basic infantry, and we'll show you. (Player does so.) Fenrir: Good. Our basic infantry is the Shocktrooper. He's good against other infantry and can take out a second machine gun to double his punch, but don't expect him to take on a tank. (A Conscript approaches the Shocktrooper and gets mowed down quickly. Then a Hammer Tank comes in and crushes the Shocktrooper, but is promptly destroyed by several shots from the Lancer) Waverider: Why did he have to die? Fenrir: Well, sweet revenge. Lancers can set up their Ice Cannons to increase their firepower and range, but it makes them immobile and takes time to set up. Waverider: GRAAAAAH! (charges off-screen) Fenrir: Don't mind him. Let's continue - the Sculptor is the Atlantean Engineer - he can capture just about any building on the field. Oh, and he has a nice ability. Just watch! (Sculptor uses secondary. Several lookalikes of him pop up beside him) Fenrir: He can fool enemies by using these articulated ice sculptures to draw enemy attention away while taking a building. I wish he'd be more like Da Vinci and make a sculpture of me though. (Poseidon clears throat loudly, turning towards the Fenrir) Fenrir: All right! Anyway, since the Heavy Aquafabricator is now done... You'll notice that it's a unit built from the Aquapolis. In order for it to start producing units, you must deploy it. Please do so right beside the Light Aquafabricator. (Player does so) Fenrir: Good. The Light Aquafabricator and the Training Facility are capable of moving in the same way, although they're obviously faster than that lumbering giant. See the vehicle tab? Note that we Atlanteans do not have shipyards - all our vehicles are amphibious and can be built on land or on sea since the Aquafabricators and the Training Facility are also amphibious. It gives us a good advantage since we don't have to build a shipyard to get access to our ships. Our unit production structures are our only buildings not built in the field. Poseidon: And like he said earlier, our ranks are full of multirole units. The only problem is that a large majority of our units have weak armour. Allow me to demonstrate. (Camera cuts to a Puffer attacking 4 Peacekeepers. The Puffer kills two, but then gets destroyed) Guardian: (off-screen) Ha! (Fenrir switches to artillery mode and fires.) Guardian: (still off-screen) Oy! Fenrir: As you can see, as well as being the Atlantean main battle tank, I'm also the most basic Atlantean artillery. I get longer range in my artillery mode, but I have to sacrifice some firing speed to do it. Poseidon: I also double as a more advanced anti-air Atlantean unit, compared to the Shiva now beside me. (Two Migs fly overhead and get shot down by the two. The one being attacked by the Poseidon dies faster) Shiva: Pfft. (jets off) Poseidon: Well, we have too many units to show, so I'll just run you through some of our more important ones. Valkyrie, if you please! (A Valkyrie sails up beside the Poseidon) Valkyrie: I'm the Atlantean tanker ship. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an oil tanker - we Atlanteans despise oil tankers. (An Industry Liquid Cargo sails past, dumping stuff in the sea while the Atlanteans aren't noticing. It whistles innocently as it is doing this.) Rather, I tank damage for the weaker Atlantean units. Unlike the Allied Assault Destroyer, I don't have anything like their Black Hole Armour, so I need to be in front of a formation to be really effective. Fenrir: Valkyries also carry a Sonic Cannon, which is one of the Atlanteans' more advanced weaponry. Sonic weapons also have a special ability - where are you, Mako? (A Mako sails up from the water onto land) Mako: As he said, Atlantean Sonic weaponry has a special ability. I'll show ya! (A Hammer tank drives up to the Valkyrie and starts attacking it. The Mako freezes the Hammer tank.) Mako: This isn't the Allied cryotechnology, mind. This is Permafrost, a special form of ice that can never melt even under pressure or heat. This makes it pretty resistant to attacks unlike the Allied cryotechnology. We use this Permafrost in all our vehicle chasses and hulls, and it's pretty effective to say the least. Fenrir? (Fenrir shoots the Hammer tank. It barely takes any damage) Mako: As you can see, this communist tank's armour has increased significantly. Only... (The Valkyrie attacks. The Hammer tank shatters into pieces instantly) Mako: - Sonic weaponry can destroy Permafrozen targets in one hit. Otherwise it'd take ages. An interesting thing to note is that I can also repair Atlantean units. (The Waverider comes back, severely damaged) Waverider: Ouch... (Waverider promptly gets healed by the Mako) Waverider: Oh, thanks! (Mako and Valkyrie leave) Fenrir: Now comes the fun stuff. Remember I mentioned our late game units? Now we get to use them. But first, the late game units are Tier 4 units, and we are only at Tier 2. The Atlantean tech system works by building Communication Arrays on our Aquapoleis hardpoints - we need 2 for Tier 2 and 6 for Tier 3. Tier 4 is a little special - we need to build a Command Hub to unlock it. We only have one Aquapolis at the moment, so we need one more to reach Tier 3. Please go to the structure tab and build a Terraformer. (Player does so) Fenrir: Deploy the Terraformer anywhere you wish - we don't need an expansion at the moment. Terraformers are our expansion units, they deploy permanently into Aquapolis Foundations, which provide a small build radius. Aquapolis Foundations can either be upgraded into a full-blown Aquapolis, or just left like that if you don't think you need another one - it costs more money anyway. Now, deploy the Terraformer and upgrade the Aquapolis Foundation into an Aquapolis. (Player does so... but it's taking time to build the Aquapolis) Waverider: It's taking rather long, isn't it? Poseidon: 'Shuddap and wait. Shall we play Uno? '''Fenrir: '''You two... '''Poseidon: '''Okay, okay! Fast-tracking construction! ''(The Aquapolis finishes building) 'Fenrir: '''Now we need to build Communication Arrays on the new Aquapolis. We already have four Arrays on our first one, so just build two more. ''(Player builds the Arrays) 'Poseidon: '''And we're now at Tier 3! Notice you've unlocked the Command Hub for construction, so just build it anywhere you like. ''(Player places the Hub) 'Fenrir: '''While waiting for it to build, notice that we still have 2 extra hardpoints on the new Aquapolis, right? We Atlanteans have a unique way of building our defenses - we can build them on hardpoints, or we can just place them in the field. Defenses built on hardpoints deal more damage and are better armoured - more so when they're built on an Aquapolis or Command Hub. We also have Hardpoint Towers and Bastion Towers, special towers with 4 hardpoints and better armour, that you can build defenses on. Please build an Ice Turret and a Flechette Gun on the Aquapolis now. ''(Player does so) 'Waverider: '''Good! And not a moment too soon! ''(A group of Conscripts and a Hammer tank come along and start attacking the Aquapolis. The turrets spring to life and wipe out the attack group in less than 15 seconds) '''Apocalypse: ''(off-screen)'' Why is it always us? grumble grumble Fenrir: (feigning ignorance) Okay, our Command Hub is now complete. Notice that several new icons have lighted up in our heavy vehicle tab? You're looking at the three Atlantean ground super-units, the Megalodon Striker Submarine and the Bahamut and Tiamat Battlecruisers. These are our most powerful ground units - well, aside from our VIP unit, which you'll be seeing later. Since it takes too long to build them, I'll just show you what they can do. (Screen cuts to the Combine coastal base from their tutorial being attacked by a Bahamut and a Tiamat. The Malice is seen in the middle of the base) Malice: Why me? Fenrir: Your 'Blessed Poison Oil Tankers' are being built there, right? (Bahamut stabilizes itself and fires the Heavy Aurora Cannon, annihiliating a quarter of the base including a Sealab just as the Malice Vortexes away) Fenrir: Ouch, that's gotta hurt. You see, the Bahamut's special ability fires a powerful beam that destroys just about anything in the line of fire. It takes a while to charge up to fire after giving the command, but is really devastating. It also has three Twin Sonic Cannon turrets for anti-structure attacks. (Bahamut attempts to attack some Black Guards, but fails to deal any damage) Poseidon: You forgot to mention this earlier, but Sonic weapons don't damage infantry at all. Fenrir: ... I knew that. Anyway, the Tiamat can deal with them. (The Tiamat purges its armour, instantly killing the Black Guards and a few light vehicles around it) Fenrir: As you can see, the Bahamut and Tiamat are meant to work together - they supplement each other. The only thing getting in the way is their high price. The Tiamat's main guns also pierce multiple enemy units, like Syndicate railguns. But of course, our Permafrost rounds deal more damage than their... little needles. Talos: (off-screen) ''TAKE THAT BACK NOW OR YOU'LL PAY! ''(Some drones fly from one side of the screen to the other. Moments later, six beams fly through the air towards the drones. Explosions are heard in the distance) Talos: (still off-screen) OWOWOWOWOW! Waverider: Oh hey, Megalodon's here. (The Megalodon comes ashore) Megalodon: Hey guys. Fenrir: This is Megalodon, our strongest and longest-ranged bombardment unit. He can attack clean across the map - considering you get those drones that were flying over us just now in position. He can't attack directly by himself though - he relies on the drones for spotting and attacking. Let's see him in action again, shall we? (Megalodon launches more drones as a group of Combine Terror Tanks appear. The drones move closer to the tanks and the Megalodon fires 6 beams, bouncing them off the drones and hitting the ground in the middle of the tank group. All the tanks are instantly destroyed) Megalodon: Problem is, the drones are vulnerable to anti-air, so do make sure to keep them away from enemy AA. Anybody without at least some decent anti-air... well, deserves to die. Waverider: Oh, oh, since you're so big, can you crush enemy tanks? Megalodon: Nope, my armour isn't strong enough for that, and I'm too slow. But those two over there can. Watch them roll over those... dummy tanks. (As they watch, two Apocalypse tanks roll up in front of the Bahamut and the Tiamat) Waverider: Wait... aren't those Apocalypses? Bahamut and Tiamat: We can crush them anyway. (Both ships roll over their respective Apocalypses, crushing them) Apocalypse: (off-screen) Hey! Don't do that to my comrades! And we should be the ones doing the crushing! Fenrir: Not when they're bigger than you. Next up, we have the aerial super units. (An Antares flies by overhead and comes back to fly circles over the battlefield) Poseidon: The Antares AWS Interceptor is the most powerful fighter in the Atlantean arsenal. It can easily take on 4 Migs at a time and come out victorious... (An Achilles flies by and attacks the Antares. The Antares gets shot down) Waverider: That's not a Mig! Fenrir: We have more though. Unlike the other super units, the Antares doesn't have a unit limit. But it is still expensive. And weakly-armoured. (A Mig squadron flies past and gets shot down by a new Antares. The Waverider dodges a flaming wreck) Waverider: Hey! Fenrir: Its special ability allows it to empty its energy reserves into a burst of Aurora beams that will heavily damage any air unit. Take this example... (A Kirov comes onto the field. The Antares flies as if wanting to ram it, and then suddenly spreads its AWS wings and stops in mid-air, blasting the Kirov with its remaining energy. It then backflips and flies off the screen as the Kirov hulk comes crashing down) Apocalypse: (off-screen) I dare you to take on a Barrage Balloon! Fenrir: Do note that the Antares requires a space at one of our Launching Pads. Next up, we have... oh man. (A Frostwyrm flies onto the screen. The Waverider runs to hide behind the Aquapolis) Poseidon: A... A... DRA... DRAGON!? Fenrir: Meheheh, the Frostwyrm was only made to look like a dragon. Its main attack is an Aurora beam that strafes across an area, dealing massive damage to anything it hits. Oh, and I'll show you his ability too. (The Frostwyrm flies over to the other tanks, who are watching from a nearby cliff. Some of the tanks shrink back, but the Frostwyrm roars and sends most of them flying... except the Apocalypse. The Malice flies pretty far, The T-59 flies so far he lands on the waverider) Guardian: OW! Malice: Save me! Apocalypse: Weaklings! (Gets hit by the Frostwyrm) Ow! That really hurt! Fenrir: The Frostwyrm's special ability knocks back and stuns all non-tier 3 vehicles, and also deals medium damage to aircraft. It can't use it too often though. But it's pretty intimidating nonetheless. And since it's actually a Sonic weapon too, it shatters Permafrozen enemies. Waverider: You kidding me!? It's a FREAKING DRAGON! (The Frostwyrm leaves) Fenrir: (ignoring the Waverider) Finally we have the Laevatein Aerofortress, the Atlantean airship. (A Laevatein flies in from the side of the map) Fenrir: The Laevatein is an aerial carrier, similar to the Allied Aircraft Carrier, only flying and with much more drones. The drones aren't as powerful, but make up for it by sheer weight of numbers. In an emergency, the Laevatein can overclock its production facilities to swarm enemy AA in enough drones to distract them enough to allow the Laevatein to escape. (The Laevatein uses the Swarm ability over a group of IFVs. The IFVs switch targets to the drones instead of the Laevatein) Fenrir: See? (A Barkhausen comes in and destroys the entire swarm in one shot) Waverider: Awww. Fenrir: Of course... it's not as effective against those things. Do note that if we ever lose the Command Hub when a super unit is on the field, the super unit will become unable to receive orders or move, but they will defend themselves. Waverider: Why is that? Poseidon: Apparently because of this little thing called b- (the Fenrir points its gun at the Poseidon)... never mind. Fenrir: Oh, the Command Hub actually relays the orders, so if it's destroyed, the super units just won't be able to accept orders. Last but not least on the list, we have the Atlantean commando, Aqua! (Aqua pops out of the Training Facility) Aqua: You called? Fenrir: Aqua can freeze enemy units in Permafrost, and she doesn't need someone else to finish the job for her - her secondary fires off a powerful Sonic blast in one direction, shattering anything that's Permafrozen in the way. Oh, and her freezing works in an area - she can freeze more than one or two targets at a time. (A group of Sickles walk up to Aqua. She freezes the whole group quickly and shatters them with the Sonic blast) Poseidon: She also instantly kills infantry without freezing them. She doesn't attack as fast as Tanya, but she's still effective against swarms of infantry. (Conscripts appear around Aqua. She kills them all effortlessly) Fenrir: I'll never know why the communists are so willing to sacrifice their people... but anyway, that's just about the end of our part of the tutorial. I'll pass you on to Zone Break Industries' Lightning Tank in a moment. Poseidon: In a moment? Reluctant to let the camera go? (Poseidon gets shot at by the Fenrir and the Waverider, who has returned) Poseidon: Ow! Waverider: Yay! I finally get to shoot someone! (Waverider gets hit by both the Fenrir and the Poseidon) Waverider: OUCH! Fenrir: You two... I was just going to give the General free rein of the base. General, you can mess around with the base until you get the hang of the Atlanteans. If you want to test out some units, there's a Soviet base further up the coast you can use for target practice. When you're ready to end the tutorial, click on me. (Player messes around a bit and then clicks on the Fenrir) Fenrir: Alright, so now that you know how to use us, it's time to pass you on to ZBI. General, I wish you luck and do remember that if you ever want to come back to do the tutorial again, we'd be happy to oblige. I'll be seeing you again in the tutorial after this, but those two won't be. So yes, see you later, General! Poseidon: Until next time, General! Waverider: Command us well on the battlefield! (Screen fades to black) Zone Break Industries The Unseen (Screen fades in with the Topolino and a Chern FEC Carrier rolling in) Topolino: Ello comander! In this lesson, we shall be teaching you our faction mechanics. Chern: Aye, first off, lets start with our base. Topolino: Wait, wheres Figment? (Figment Missle Carriers appears, as does a sniper) Figment: Thanks for the support gent. (Sniper walks away) Figment: What did I miss? Chern: We were just about to show off our base. Topolino: Right, (Picks up voice) ALRIGHT GENTS DISEMBARK! (Entire Unseen base appears, as does many infantry) Topolino: First and foremost, all Unseen structures are garrisonable. Figment: Which helps as they are thrown together on the spot. (Artillery Fires and destroys a PP, the base powers down) Chern: HEY COMBINE! WHAT WAS THAT FOR? Malice: We miscalculated our trajectory...maybe Topolino: Either way, this is a good time to explain our base building mechanic Chern: Aye, Commander! First, select our HQ (Player complies) Chern: Good, as you can see we have a large build radius, select the power plant. (Player complies) Chern: Good, now place it. Topolino: Too slow! (shoots Chern) Hurry it up! Chern: Right, now as you can see scaffolding was placed on the field. (Drone flys by) Figment: Oh yeah, Commander! These little guys are called M-Class drones. they make a beeline to the scaffolding to begin construction, but the route to it can be altered. (Drone arrives at the build site) Topolino: (As PP is being built) Unseen structures are built on the field, and in a rather short period of time. Chern: What about defences? Topolino: I was getting to that Chern: Please do. Topolino: Right. Commander! Click our defences tab (Player does so) Figment: As you can see, Unseen defences have rather low power requirements Chern: Some don't even need power to function! The People (Shield, Sword, and Dagda move into a green countryside into a The People base with a Summoning tower, two warehouses pumping out ore and a Portal) Sword: OK solder get ready1 We're Starting on The People! Sheild: As perhaps the most advanced faction in the expanded universe, we get several advantages over these primitive humans. Grizzly: What do you mean by "most advanced"? (Sword and Shield shoot Grizzly, which retreats) Sword: Can it primitive. Shield: As you can see we do not have any powerplants up yet and we still have enough power to run our base. The summoning Tower provides the most power of all constuction yards and is cheaper to boot! Sword: It is however far frailer than its counterparts and cannot pack up once it has deployed. Sheild: Now on to power. Commander train an Assimilator. (player does so, a lump of change is instantly deducted from the player's account and production is placed on hold) Sword: There are a few things here to note commander: First of all, NORMALLY units used by The People CANNOT have their production put out on hold. This rule has been temporarily suspended for the sake of this one demonstration. Shield: Seccond, notice that the cash used to pay for the unit came out in one lump sum rather than how other factions have it drain out over time. Thiss is done for the sake of the third point- Sword: which is that little orb which came out of the portal over there. Showing you would probably be better though. Commander Please select that orb. (player does so) Shield: That orb is the actual assimilator under production. We, The People have the unique ability to command and move units before they are even finished building. Sword: However, in thir unfinished state, they are extremely frail and if destroyed, everything that went into that unit's construction is lost. (assimilator's production is unhalted and allowed to finish) Shield: Sector Chrono Lesson 3: New VIP units *WIP, feel free to edit. You don't have to add new stuff only to the bottom - you can do it in between lines too. Category:Article stubs